Wentzmania: The Next Chapter

Just last offseason, the Indianapolis Colts traded a 2021 2nd round pick and a soon to be 2022 1st round pick to the Eagles for Carson Wentz. Wentz has had his moments obviously, but has struggled to find a mainstay in the NFL since his brutal injury in 2017. He’s also dealt with a multitude of other injuries that have found the young QB sidelined for some of the biggest games of his career.

Carson Wentz now heads to his 3rd team; one who’s a neighboring rival of his initial team (the Eagles), in the Washington Commanders. The Colts bit the bullet on what turned out to be a catastrophic trade. They receive two 3rds in return, with the chance of the 2023 3rd to become a 2nd.

I found myself shocked. It wasn’t long ago when rumors started that Wentz was likely to be cut by the Colts. Now they find themselves adding two Day 2 picks. Not only did they add capital they lost in their original Wentz deal, they also shredded his entire payroll.

Washington Commanders Outlook

I feel like Washington jumped the gun prematurely. The NFL Draft is just over a month away, with a few QBs who could make a difference at the NFL level.

We know what Carson Wentz is; a replacement-level QB who needs the Avengers around him to bring his team to contention. Washington decided he was best for their future instead of guys like Jameis Winston, Mitch Trubisky, and Marcus Mariota. I don’t see that big of a gap betweeen the four in terms of true value; though moving two 3rds and eating 28M isn’t worth it for a guy of Wentz’s caliber.

Washington now needs to do whatever it takes to bring in help alongside Terry McLaurin. Curtis Samuel is good when healthy, but he cannot be the only guy outside of McLaurin on a championship contending team. They should look to add Amari Cooper if he is let go by the Cowboys, and truly push their chips to the center to win now.

Personally, I had Terry McLaurin’s fantasy football dynasty value pretty high; with hopes Washington would land one of Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson. Obviously they didn’t, so it’s a little disappointing to have to wait at least another year in hopes for McLaurin to get a good QB. At the age of 26 – soon to be 27 – it’s hard to justify him having the best long-term fantasy football outlook. I just want Terry with someone good, but I don’t see that coming to fruition.

For Antonio Gibson and the other backs on the roster, having Wentz could actually help;    and Logan Thomas (if healthy), should see a large uptick in production with Carson Wentz at the helm.

Indianapolis Colts Outlook

The Colts actually got better, as of today. They bit the bullet and dump the 28M off of their payroll. They have close to 70M in cap space to work with, with a plethora of options to choose in this free agency class that offer similar production to Carson Wentz. They can still botch this though.

Rumors have swirled involving the Colts and Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers already made it clear they were ready to move on from Jimmy with Trey Lance in the shadows, and the Colts now have a need at QB. I don’t want them to waste the capital they did get back for another replacement level QB. Sign Winston, Trubisky, Mariota. Either that or trade for Jordan Love who still possesses some upside.

Things don’t really change for Jonathan Taylor, as he remains a top back in fantasy football for a majority of people in 2022. Michael Pittman still intrigues me heading into 2022, although I’d like someone decent throw him the ball. Things are wide open for the Colts in terms of offense, but I still expect impacts from Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman.

I think the Colts overall made out like bandits. I think Washington needs to play to it’s absolute ceiling for them to be true contenders in a tough NFC East. But it will be fun to watch Carson Wentz play (one of) his former team twice a year.